Flooding continues, children miss classes<\/p>\n
Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Kebumen<\/p>\n
The floods that hit Kebumen, Banyumas and Cilacap regencies in
\nsouthwest Central Java have been subsiding, but dozens of schools
\nin the three regencies were still flooded or water damaged,
\npreventing children from returning to school after a one-week
\nholiday.<\/p>\n
Banyumas spokesman Didi Rudwianto said the authorities could
\ndo nothing to assist the schools, except to issue an instruction
\nfor children not to go to school.<\/p>\n
He said the local administration was currently looking for
\nalternative places that could be used as temporary schools.<\/p>\n
Public buildings such as village halls and district halls were
\nstill full of people displaced by floods and therefore could not
\nbe used as temporary schools.<\/p>\n
\"If necessary, we will erect tents for learning-teaching
\nactivities,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Despite the filthy state of the buildings, a number of schools
\naffected by floods in Banyumas were open on Monday, with children
\nhelping out to clean their schools.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, flooding in Kebumen, Cilacap and Banyumas had
\nsubsided, with fewer districts and villages inundated by
\nfloodwaters. Nevertheless, about 3,000 people were still staying
\nat public buildings and makeshift shelters spread throughout 61
\nvillages in eight districts in Kebumen.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Banyumas, around 4,000 people were still staying
\nat temporary shelters, while in Cilacap the number had dropped to
\nonly 400 people.<\/p>\n
Authorities in the three most flood-affected regencies are
\nworking hard to administer medicine to flood victims who are
\nsuffering from various ailments, ranging from skin diseases to
\ndiarrhea.<\/p>\n
The head of Cilacap's public health service office, Sunarni,
\nsaid she had assigned all her staff to flood-hit areas to
\ndistribute medicine and chlorine.<\/p>\n
The Kebumen health office sent out all its staff to the
\ntemporary shelters in various villages.<\/p>\n
\"For the time being, we only have records of skin diseases and
\ndiarrhea. We have not received any report of endemic diseases,\" a
\nstaff member at the Kebumen health office said.<\/p>\n
In Banyumas, the authorities have allocated Rp 400 million
\n(US$40,000) to buy supplies of medicine and administer them to
\nflood victims.<\/p>\n
Besides flooding, fresh landslides hit Banyumas on Sunday
\nnight, burying at least 46 houses in Besuki village, Lumbir
\ndistrict.<\/p>\n
No fatalities were reported as a result of the landslide, but
\npeople living in the affected houses had to stay with neighbors.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in Kebumen, landslides had hit 11 villages in three
\ndistricts. Ayah district was the worst hit, with eight villages
\naffected by the landslides, including Jintung, Mangunweni,
\nWatukelir, Pasir, Argosari, Kalibangkang, Argopeni and Kalipoh.<\/p>\n
In Mangunweni, a landslide damaged over one hundred houses,
\nforcing 300 people living in those houses to evacuate.<\/p>\n
Two weeks ago, nine people were killed in a landslide in
\nPenusupan village, Kebumen.<\/p>\n
As of Monday, 500 people displaced by landslides were still
\nliving in temporary shelters.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/flooding-continues-children-miss-classes-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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